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Floor Speech

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Ms. ROSEN. Mr. President, every Member of this body is sworn to protect our national security and safety and the well-being of the American people. There is no more important responsibility for Congress to fulfill than this.

Senators take an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. And when the American people go to sleep at night, they rest assured that our homeland will be kept safe.

As Senators, we play a key role in making sure that the men and women in charge of our Nation's security--well, that they are up to the task, that they are experienced, that they are qualified, that they are prepared. These are jobs with enormous responsibility. There is zero-- zero--room for failure here. When unqualified or inexperienced candidates make mistakes in these jobs, often the result is that innocent people get hurt and in some cases die.

That is why the Senate's confirmation process is just so important-- because the stakes are so high, because there is no room for error when it comes to those who are placed in national security roles.

I take this aspect of my job incredibly seriously. Our intelligence community is made up of courageous men and women who collect and analyze information on our threats from around the globe. They are an integral part of our Nation's defense.

The Director of National Intelligence oversees and compiles intelligence from domestic, from military, from foreign sources for the President, who then uses it to make life-or-death decisions. The Director is a direct line from our intelligence community to the President. That is why this position needs to be filled by an experienced and trustworthy candidate--key qualities that Tulsi Gabbard does not have.

At a time of rising global threats, having Tulsi Gabbard serving in this role would make America less safe. I want to say that again. It would make us less safe--full stop. Our allies are dumbfounded. And our adversaries? Well, in Moscow, Beijing, Tehran, and all over the world, they are laughing at us. They are laughing at the idea that the United States of America would weaken its national security by placing someone so deeply unqualified in such a critical role for our safety, for our security. Our adversaries? Well, they are overjoyed that they are going to have an ally leading the American intelligence community.

My concerns are not political. After all, Ms. Gabbard and I used to serve in Congress together, in the same caucus, when she represented a district from Hawaii as a Democrat. My concerns are that she not only lacks the qualifications needed but that she has also peddled talking points straight from the Kremlin.

Think about it. Tulsi Gabbard has never worked in intelligence before. As a Member of the House of Representatives, she didn't even serve on the House Select Committee on Intelligence. During her time in the House, Ms. Gabbard actually voted against--she voted against-- critical national security-related legislation, like increased funding for preventing terrorism in high-density, high-threat level urban areas like my city of Las Vegas. She voted against all of that security for Nevada.

This funding was actually pursued by former Nevada Congressman Joe Heck, who is a Republican, and it is something I have continued working to secure here in the Senate. Yet Tulsi Gabbard voted against this bipartisan proposal to protect our cities from terrorism.

She was the only member of the House Armed Services Committee to vote against the National Defense Authorization Act every year during markup.

As concerning as her lack of experience and tendency to vote against our security are, Ms. Gabbard's history of cozying up to America's adversaries is far, far more troubling. Her actions and words suggest that she has been directly influenced by foreign propaganda, whether that comes from Russia, from Syria, or other brutal dictatorships.

This isn't just me saying this; it is the view of many of Ms. Gabbard's former staff members during her time here on Capitol Hill. We have public reporting that states that ``[f]ormer advisers to Gabbard suggested that her views on Russia and its polarizing leader, Vladimir Putin, have been shaped . . . by her unorthodox media consumption habits. . . . Three former aides said Gabbard . . . regularly read and shared articles from the Russian news site RT--formerly known as Russia Today--which the U.S. intelligence community characterized in 2017 as `Kremlin's principal international propaganda outlet.' ''

Is this who Donald Trump wants to lead America's intelligence community? Is this who he wants in a prominent national security role-- someone who is so easily swayed by foreign propaganda?

It is clear that she has taken this propaganda and disinformation to heart. Just look at her justification of Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine, for which she did not blame Vladimir Putin, who--let's be clear--is entirely responsible for the invasion. Instead, Ms. Gabbard has parroted Putin's talking points and placed blame on the United States and on NATO for Russia's vile assault upon the Ukrainian people.

We can also look at her attempts to give cover to Syria's former dictator, Bashar al-Assad, who used chemical weapons on his own people--killing kids, killing babies--killing babies in his own attempt to hold on to power. Ms. Gabbard even went to Syria to buddy up with Assad. She then came back to the United States to defend his killing of innocent men, women, and children--those babies he killed--to hang on to power. It is sickening, actually. It is a betrayal of our country's values.

Time and time again, Ms. Gabbard has rejected the findings and conclusions of our own intelligence officials and has instead chosen to, well, cozy up to dictators and our adversaries. She did so again in her defense of Edward Snowden, a man who committed treason against the United States of America by leaking highly classified information that jeopardized our national security, the safety of our troops, our men and women in uniform, who take an oath to serve and protect us every day. She jeopardized the clandestine intelligence operatives who are out there, working behind the scenes, again, to keep us safe and secure every day.

After committing these serious crimes against the United States, Mr. Snowden fled to Russia in his continued attempt to escape justice. Those weren't the actions of a whistleblower; they were the actions of a traitor to the United States of America--a traitor whom Tulsi Gabbard has repeatedly defended.

Because of these incidents and so many more, America's allies are rightfully concerned about what Tulsi Gabbard would do if confirmed to lead our intelligence community. In fact, there have been reports that if Ms. Gabbard is confirmed, our allies might stop sharing crucial information with us in order to protect themselves, to protect their own country, to protect the people they love.

So think about that. If our allies no longer share intelligence with us, think about the damage that does to our national security, to our safety, to our men and women in uniform, to our operatives around the world, and to each and every one of us here in the United States of America. It doesn't make us safer, I can tell you that. Our allies do not trust her, and neither should we.

I urge my colleagues to review Ms. Gabbard's recent hearing before the Select Committee on Intelligence. In response to almost every question, Tulsi Gabbard avoided providing any real answer, whether it came from a Democrat or a Republican. She simply dodged the questions over and over and over. That is not leadership. This is not an example of someone who is qualified, and this is not a candidate who will keep America safe.

I urge my Republican colleagues to join me in listening to common sense, in thinking about our men and women who serve, in thinking about folks around the globe, and in thinking about everyone here in America and to reject this clearly unqualified and dangerous nominee.

It doesn't have to be this way. Let's have President Trump nominate someone else we can agree is qualified for this critical and consequential role and who has our Nation's best interests in their heart. Tulsi Gabbard is not that person. The safety and well-being of our country depend on having a qualified nominee.

Again, I urge Republicans to join us--to reject Tulsi Gabbard--and to put someone up who has the heart and experience to do this important job.

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